PHILADELPHIA — Ed Sheeran opened a solo concert in Philadelphia on Saturday with comments about Gaza after controversy swirled around his tour and supporting acts withdrew in solidarity with opener Macklemore, who was dropped after making pro-Palestinian comments onstage.
Sheeran said he wants his music and shows to be about unity and humanity, not politics. But he said the attacks in Israel of Oct. 7, 2023, were horrific and what is happening in Gaza “catastrophic and unjustifiable.”
“I don’t want to disappoint fans, and I’ve never wanted to be an activist musician, but this has put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet,” Sheeran said during his performance at Lincoln Financial Field.
The comments before a nearly full stadium, home of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, came after a tumultuous week that began with rapper Macklemore, Sheeran’s original U.S. opener, being dropped in response to exclaiming “Free Palestine!” during a Sept. 5 show in New Jersey.
Sheeran has said he was not responsible for the decision, which came at the urging of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. His company owns a stadium where Sheeran’s tour was scheduled to play Friday.
Within hours of Sheeran’s statement Tuesday, his supporting acts withdrew.
Sheeran has performed much of his Loop Tour concerts solo, but he had been joined for several songs at each stop by the Irish folk band Beoga. Macklemore was replaced by Danish band Lukas Graham and Irish singer Aaron Rowe before they backed out, and Finneas, Billie Eilish’s brother and musical collaborator, was due to tour with Sheeran in South America later this year before he too dropped out this week.
Before Saturday’s show, a group of about 50 pro-Palestinian demonstrators congregated outside the stadium. Hillary Steinberg, 34, of Philadelphia, said she got tickets a year ago but wound up getting a refund and attending the demonstration instead, disappointed that Sheeran had not taken a stand.
“I was, until this week, a big Ed Sheeran fan,” Steinberg said. “I think all art is political, and all music is political, and so this choice — even though he was saying that he wasn’t complicit — is a political choice.”
Diane Savitz, a 53-year-old from Stroudsburg, Pa., got tickets months ago and attended. A big Sheeran fan, she said she does not think that he did anything wrong or that a concert is the place for politics.
“A concert should be for people enjoying the music. Music should bring people together,” Savitz said. “Everyone has their right to freedom of speech, but not every platform is the place for it.”
Macklemore said Wednesday that he is donating $1 million to support Palestinian relief efforts and called on Kraft to match the gift; a spokesperson for Kraft has said the billionaire and Sheeran have each agreed to donate $2 million but have not specified where the money will be directed. Sheeran’s representatives have not responded to multiple requests for comment.
For the record:
9:22 p.m. Sept. 19, 2026An earlier version of this story said Sheeran was the third-highest concert earner from 2021 to 2025. The period is from 2001 to 2025.
Sheeran’s Loop Tour was the highest-grossing in the world, with an average box office gross of over $7 million per city, Pollstar said in May. Through the end of 2025, Sheeran was the No. 3 top-earning concert act since 2001.
Sheeran has said the tour promoter was ultimately responsible for the decision to drop Macklemore.
The Grammy winner was adamant in his Tuesday statement that he wouldn’t be drawn into discussion of the war in Gaza, arguing that his fans don’t come to his shows to hear about these issues.
He also said he “spoke with the venues at length all week to try to build a bridge” before Macklemore was dropped. He insisted he would never willingly let down his fans or abandon the touring crew and others who rely on him to make a living.
While promoters and venues wield great power over concert tours, experts say an artist of Sheeran’s magnitude generally has the final say about what happens concerning the shows.
Sheeran told the crowd in Philadelphia that everyone is welcome at his concerts, and they can have opposing points of view while still singing his songs, which are about “love, hope and unity.”
He also told fans he worries about venues pre-approving performances.
“This happens in so many places that I perform around the world, but it should never happen in the free world,” Sheeran said.
Vejpongsa writes for the Associated Press. AP journalist Jessica Hill in Las Vegas contributed to this report.
